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Jacen Brashin
Dawn On New Republic Chapter One The Bulwark Mark III, known as Vanquisher loomed over the planet Ryloth. Or Tuma, the outer-most planet of the Ryloth system, and barely a red glow in the distance, and Mon Bala, inner most-planet, was on the other side of the system, hiding behind the star, known also as Ryloth. This is the Star System that contained the home planet of Jacen Brashin's master, Zaalbar Tokocharger. Jacen Brashin stood watch on the Bridge of the Vanquisher, In the Outer Rim, orbiting the Twi’lek home planet. The New Republic had received information, that The New Republic was still fresh, after the fall of the Empire. The Empire's forces were still running amok, attacking Republic ships, and freighters. The New Republic reused the Star Destroyer forges, that were still intact, and recycled destroyed ships. "Captain, four ships just dropped out of hyperspace." Ponda Danva said. "What class?" Jacen asked. "Two Victory II class Star destroyers, an Executor-class Star Dreadnought, and a Nebula class Star Destroyer." Jacen's fleet consisted of an assortment of battleships, including the Vanquisher, Three Victory I class Star Destroyers, and half a dozen Nova class Battle Cruisers. The Bulwark Mark III was 2,500 meters long, had 1,250 turbo-lasers, and 600 ion cannons. It was a mobile fortress. The Nova-class battle cruisers was only 400 meters long, but could last a standard year, without refilling provisions, and equipped with lots of weaponry, but still nowhere near the firepower of the Bulwark III. Vary maneuverable, and swift, the Nova-class Battle Cruiser was a ship of the Hapans, but Jacen had managed to get hold of a few. The Star Dreadnought came into view. It was relatively small, compared to Darth Vader's personal Super Star Destroyer, Executor, this one was only seven kilometers long. "Sir, incoming transmission." Ponda said. The hologram appeared in the center of the bridge, adding a very slight tint of blue to it's surroundings. It flickered twice, then a humanoid for took shape. "I am Jodo Dassyne, Warlord of the Empire, and Captain of the Imperial Ship, Venom. I am here for only one reason, and that is you have something of mine, and i want it back. Now we can make things simple, or. ” Dassyne said, and broke off for a second. "We can do this the hard way, which will inevitably end in your destruction." "And I am Jacen Brashin, Captain of the Vanquisher, of the New Republic." Jacen said back "Dassyne, did you say? I can’t say that I have heard of you." He lied. He knew very well who Captain Dassyne was "You are in no position to be making insults Boy." Dassyne snarled. "Let me say this again. You have something of mine and I want it back." "I'm afraid I don't know what you are missing." "I'll give you one more chance. I am a very shot tempered man, and I don’t like it when people don't do what I want. So if you don't agree to my terms, I will gladly blow you to oblivion!" Jacen thought about this for a second, and then Dassyne interrupted his thoughts. "Captain Brashin, We both know what you have. Tallon Gev designed a new hyperdrive system, Much faster and efficient than the one these Star Destroyers are equiped with. The man named Han Solo, who owns the Millennium Falcon, will no longer have the fastest junk heap in the galaxy anymore." Tallon Gev was one of the smartest men in the fragmented Empire. He was a Chiss, and helped design the Death Star, Jacen recalled. He also recalled leading the team that had stolen the plans. "Now, I'm afraid you have the wrong Captain. My fleet has been helping clean up the remnants left over from the wars for the last four months." "Don't lie to me! It was my base that was attacked, I know who attacked me! any you just lost you final chance." Dassyne said outraged. The hologram flickered out, as the connection was cut. The ships weapons powered up, the shield generators hummed as they powered up. The Bulwark Mk III was a massive battleship, and could take down a Victory Class Star Destroyer, or even two. But Two Victory II's and a Dreadnought? That's a tough job; But a Star Destroyer is not a warship, like the Vanquisher. It was more of a symbol of power. "Attention. Attack Formation. Repeat, Attack Formation." Jacen ordered the other ships. With the Bulwark Mk III in front, one Star Destroyer on either side, and three Nova Class Battle Cruisers on the far sides of those ships, forming a 'V' shape "Star fighter squadrons, engage enemy." Jacen ordered. The hangar bays opened, and ten squadrons flew out of the Bulwark, and two from each Victory I Star Destroyer. "Novas One through Six, concentrate fire on the Nebula. The rest get the Victories" The Imperial ships came into range, and the turbolasers, and Ion Cannons fired their first shots. Star fighters flew by, followed by the Nova battle cruisers. The Nova ships were small, compared to the Bulwark, but fast, maneuverable, and had heavy weaponry. One Nova against the Nebula was a hopeless fight, but get six, then the Novas have the advantage. Red and green flashes illuminated the empty void of space in between the two fleets. Star fighters raced through the maze of light, avoiding the turbolaser exchange. Half the Novas engaged the Nebula class Star Destroyer, and the other half split up against the Victories. "Position us between the Victories, and the Dreadnought, Danva." Jacen said. "The Victories will have to choose between us, or the Novas, leaving them exposed." "Y-yes sir!" Danva hesitantly, questioning this particular order. The Vanquisher moved forward, as the sublight engines kicked in. Ion Cannons took fire, subduing many Star fighters, and some weapon systems of the Dreadnought. After several minutes of this, the Hull of the Dreadnought started to find some explosions. The Nebula had been destroyed, by the swarm of Novas, and One Victory was sparking, and glowing red hot from the Novas. "Sir, the Vanquisher can take allot more damage, but our Novas' shields are low. The Vigilant has lost its engines." Danva said. "We can last for another ten minutes. Let me deal with Dassyne." Jacen said calmly, and activated the holocomm again. When Captain Dassyne answered the call, Jacen said, "Looks like odds have changed, Captain Dassyne. Now the choice is yours. Flee, while you still can, or die." "Concentrate all firepower to the Vanquisher!" Dassyne yelled, ignoring the open hologram. Jacen closed the holocomm channel, and one of the inferno, a Victory II burst into a ball of flame, and shrapnel. "Nova Seven, Evacuate, and plot crash course to the Dreadnought Bridge. "Yes sir." Kreyze answered. Anya was the Commander of Nova Seven, and had been part of Jacen's fleet from the very beginning, and they have known each other, and been great friends since the Battle Of Yavin. Several minuets later, the Nova released some Escape pods. One by one, the Vanquisher brought them into the docking bays with the tractor beam. The Nova blasted forwards with amazing speed, after most of the pods had been jettisoned. •.•.• On the bridge of the Venom, Dassyne saw what was about to happen. The Bridge crew did not realize this, and Dassyne said, "Concentrate all fire on that nova!" He then rushed from the bridge, and the crew were puzzled by his sudden absence. The Turbolasers aimed at the Nova, and blasted away. •.•.• "Anya, get out of there now!" Jacen ordered, over the holocomm "Sir, it is my job to make sure that everyone gets off this ship safely. I will not leave until I confirm that there is not another living being aboard" Anya replied. "Collision in ten seconds." Jacen heard the computer voice over the holocomm. "Captain--" The holocomm unit burst into a fit of static. The Nova was hit with a large ion pulse, but had too much momentum to be stopped by an engine failure. Five seconds. Jacen thought. He attempted the Holocomm again, a bit more calm this time, "Anya, get off that ship." No reply. Three seconds... Two seconds... One... The Nova Smashed into the Venom's bridge, and vaporized into a ball of flame. The Venom's weapons stopped firing, and the engines powered down. Jacen stood, staring at the wreckage. "Sir, scanners are picking up a disabled X-Wing. It came from the Nova." Ponda said. "Bring it in, Bay 12." Jacen said, relaxed a bit, and walked off towards the docking bay. By reaching out with the force, Jacen was able to sense Anya was still alive in the cockpit. The blast door slid open, revealing a blackened, scorched, Star fighter. Sparks were flying from where the astromech should be. The cockpit opened, and Anya stepped out, still in her white Commanders uniform. "Anya, you're okay." Jacen said, relieved. "But, for safety, report to med bay." "Yes, Captain." Anya replied. They stood there for a second, then Anya walked off towards the Med bay, and Jacen thought he saw a slight limp in Anya's walk, but then headed back to the Bridge, after he decided his mind was playing tricks on him, that he was just worried. Chapter Two "Status report?" Jacen asked. "Shields at fifty-two percent. Docking bays four, five, and six have under maintenance, airlocks failed. Droids are currently working on them as we speak." Barris Eclipse rattled off. "Hyperdrive engine intact, sublight engines functional." "Good, Anya, Sio, Meet me at Docking Bay seven in one standard hour." Jacen said "Yes sir." They both replies in unison. Jacen stood on the bridge of the Vanquisher for a few minuets, watching the damaged dreadnought, Venom. He heard the Bridge doors open, and turned around. "Master." Jacen greeted his old master, Zaalbar Tokocharger. "Jacen, my Padawan, we need to talk in Private." Zaal said. "Yes master." Jacen said, and folowed Zaal out of the Bridge. They reached Zaal's quarters, and entered. "I want to warn you to use all precautions. The New Republic is unstable at such an early stage of reconstruction, and you are in grave danger. If the New Republic loses you, the Empire may arise again." Zaal said. Jacen was confused. "What do you mean, Master?" Jacen asked. "I have been forbidden to Tell you anymore by the Jedi High Council. They fear that if i were to tell you it would only worry you more, and make things worse than they already are." "But Master, i dint understand." "You will in time. I don't suppose i can call you 'Padawan' anymore, know that you are a Jedi Knight. I miss those days." Zaal said. "Now go, prepare yourself for the task ahead." Jacen responded, "I'll keep my guard up, Master." Then he walked out, and headed off towards his own quarters. "And Jacen?" called Zaal "Yes master?" "Remember this; The Jedi are peacekeepers, and the Sith are chaos. The Dark side inevitably leads to suffering." "Yes Master." Jacen said, even more bewildered than before, and walked off towards his own quartets, thinking over what was just said. When Jacen reached his quarters, he opened the door. There was a medium sized bed, along with a computer terminal, holoscreen and a Full size Holoprojector, for long distance calls. Jacen sat down to meditate. "What did my master mean by that?" Jacen thought aloud. He fell into a deel meditative state. 'You will find your answers with time.' Jacen heard a voice respond. Jacen and a gift from the force, the ability to have a one-on-one conversation with the Living Force, talk to any Jedi who had ever lived through the force, but they only appeared when he need them. 'Why is my Master so worried?' Jacen asked. 'your master wishes to protect you, but cannot tell you what to do, as you are no longer a Padawan.' the voice said back. An image came into focus around him. He was in the Jedi Temple. The Jedi Temple of Coruscant. An elder male Jedi Master appeared, along with his apprentice, a young Chiss female with dark blue hair, and bright red eyes, standing beside him. 'I am Jedi Master Coleman Delso, and this is my Padawan Lesta Karrda' 'Master Delso, what does he believe is putting me in Danger?' 'Jedi Master Zaalbar Tokocharger knows that these are dark times, and the New Republic is in a fragile state. If the galaxy falls to the Dark Side again, it may not recover for many millennium.' 'But what is worrying him? None of that answers my question.' 'as i said before, you will your find your answers in time. Your master wishes to keep some information from you, and the Living Force will not allow me to say what else he knows.' 'yes master' Jacen finished their conversation. Coleman turned, and talked off into the distance, then Jacen awoke from his Meditation. Jacen had been meditating for almost forty minutes. In ten minutes he was to meet Anya and Sio in Docking Bay Seven. Jacen got up, made sure his lightsaber was secure to his belt, and hidden from view, then walked out the door. It took him three minutes to get to Docking Bay Seven. Anya was already there and waiting, Sio had not arrived yet. "As soon as Sio arrives, i'll tell you what is expected." Jace said. Just then, the blastdoors opened, and Sio walked in. "Ah. Perfect timing, Sio." Jacen said, and Sio nodded. "We are boarding the Star Dreadnought Venom. Sio, i need you to get us through security, meaning keeping any droids away from us, and to slice the main computer. We'll download any useful information to this datapad." Jacen said. "Anya, you are here because you know the layout of a Star Dreadnought. Now lest board this shuttle." Anya walked in the shuttle first, then Sio, and last, Jacen, who took the pilot seat. A small light on the control panel lit up, giving them, the 'all clear' to take off. The shuttle shook slightly as it left the floor of the Vanquisher. They flew through the blue airlock, and exitec the Bulwark. Jacen took the shuttle around the Vanquisher, to get a good look at what his ship looked like on the outside. Sparks flew from where the ships exterior had been torn through. Droids worked on the airlocks, and other damage. The dreadnought was still floating in orbit, but without its engines, it would soon fall to the surface of Ryloth. "Captain, sensors show that the Venom has twenty two hours till Life support systems fail." Barris informed over the ship-to-ship intercom. "We won’t be there too long. Barris, keep an eye out for escape pods, and small ships. If any one leaves, catch them in the tractor beam." Jacen said. The shuttle started its journey to the crippled Dreadnought. The Docking bays were not secured, so the Jedi, and his crew had no trouble getting in the Dreadnought. "Copy that, Captain." Barris replied. The shuttle interior lit up with a green flash. "Turbolasers are still functional!" Sio shouted, alarmed. The shot continued to the Vanquisher, and bounced harmlessly off it's shields. Another shot came from the turbolaser battery. "No, its not. Thats was a malfunction." Jacen said confidently. "It came from the same turret, and hit in the same spot on the Vanquishers shields. Jacen kept the shuttle steady, heading towards an Imperial docking bay. As the shuttle entered the Docking bay, the number sixty six greeted them. It reminded Jacen of the end of the clone wars, The order to exectue the Jedi. Order 66. Jaceb did not know too much about Order 66, he was born years after it happened. However, his Master told him about it . Order 66 nearly wiped out the entire Jedi Order, Very few Jedi survived. When ever they spoke of Order 66, Zaals face would show an expression of remorse, and a hint of sadness in his tone of voice. Jacen pushed that out of his mind, and gently set the shuttle down on the floor of the Imperial ship. Jacen could sense panic in the air, even a non-force sensitive being could tell. "Set blasters to kill, if anyone gives us any problems, they will regret it." Jacen said, and unholstered his own blaster. He had it set to full power. "Barris, from here on, contact us via holocomm, we are leaving the ship." Jacen said in tho his wrist holocom unit. "Yes captain." Barris acknowledged. The shuttled door opened, and Jacen steped off. The dull gray walls seemed to add to the suspense in the air. "Gray? I wonder why that is, a typical Imperial Star Destroyer walls are white." Anya wondered aloud. "They are white," Jacen said. "There must have been a fire here, thats soot covering the walls." Jacen walked over to the nearest wall, and slid his index finger down it. The true wall, a polished white color, was exposed. "Barris, give me another scan on the ship. Has the life support systems had a dramatic change recently?" Jacen asked into the holocomm. "Negative, Captain. Life support systems still fine. May I ask why?" "The docking bay walls are covered in soot. There must have been a fire in here." "Nothing out of the ordinary down there, Captain." "Alright, captain out." Jacen said, closing the transmission. "Lets get going, before it's too late." Jacen said. "Some how i don't think we have as much time before we lose orbit, or lose the Life support systems, as predicted" The blast doors of opened, and an Imperial Stormtooper stood there. Jacen raised his blaster, quicker than the Stormtrooper could react. The troopers hand was half way to his in helmet holocom, when Jacen's red shot slammed into his chest, and killed him. The trooper fell backwards, and hit the floor with a thud. "Lets hope we dont run into anymore." Jacen said, holstering his blaster. They ran throught the blastdoors, the halls were empty. All personal were working on repairs. "Backup computers are in Engineering." Anya said. "Folow me." Anya looked around, to get an idea where they were, then took the hallway to their right. "Sio, slice this computer terminal, see security paths, emergency precedures, and all that." Jacen ordered. "Yes sir." Sio said. It was an Astromech terminal, but Sio could get all the information he needed from there. He reached into his tool kit, and and brought out a small lightsaber-like knife. Sio used the knife to cut open the pannel, to get to internal wireing. "Hand me the datapad" Sio said, and Jacen did so. Sio then hooked the datapad up to the wireing, where the astromech outlet should have been. ' 'searching files' The data pad looked through the Venom's security databanks, downloading any thing useful. "Caption, this will take up to five minuets." Sio said. "We have time." Jacen said, reaching out with the force. He did not feel anybody nearby at the moment. They waited until the download was complete, then headed on their way. "I've got a map, showing patrol routes, and when the patrols are supposed to be in this section of the ship." Sio said. "Engineering is this way." Anya said, and rushed off at a jog. The Venom shoot violently. "Captain, that sudden change in the Life support systems you were talking about. It just happened, you have thirty minuets. The Dreadnought is spliting apart, and has been caught in Ryloth's gravity." Barris' voice sounded from the holocom unit. "Alright, we'll make this quick" Jacen said. "Anya, take us there quickly." "Yes captain." They sprinted down the ship's halls. Right turn here, Left turn there, another left turn.. Finally, almost to Engineering, Anya slowed. She was breathing hard, and Sio was a few paces behind. Not a bead of sweat was on Jacen's face. His breathing was normal. "Captain, according to emergency protocols Engineering is supposed to be raysheilded." Sio said. "Let me take care of this. Sio walked over to the control panel,and opened the door. Sure enough, a red raysheild blocked their path. "This should only take a mineut. The hall lit up with a red glow, and alarms sounded, a near deafening sound. Jacen's first throught was Sio had triggered it, but then he realized that the ship was indded coming appart, and that was what the alarms were. "Sio, we have less time than anticipated. We need to be in that room now!" "Captain, im working on, it's got an explosive--" Sio was interupted by Jacen, he was going to say there was an explosive wired in, and if he did something wrong, they all would go up in flames. "I dot care what it is, just get it done as fast as you can." "Yes captain." Sio answered, and went back to work. Finally, the red raysheild flickered, and powered down. "Got it Captain." Sio exclamed. "Good." Jacen replied. They walked in, up to the computer terminal. "One more time, Sio." Working on the computer terminal, Sio one again showed his technological skills. It took several minuets to filter out the useless information, and to continue the download. "Some one is near." Jacen said, he could feel a dark presence in the Force. "Captain, no patrols are supposed to be in this section of the ship for another standard half hour." Sio said, checking his Chronometer. "That doesn't matter right now, there is some one near, and that's all that matters. Anya, stay here, keep guard. I'll go find who is near, and put a stop to him." "Yes Captain. Not to question your choice, but may i ask how you are so sure some one is nearby?" "That is irrelevant at the moment." Jacen said, then left the Engineering room. He reached out with the force, as followed the dark presence. Eighteen minuets. Not much time, but it will have to do. With one more turn of a corner, there stood a hooded figure. "Jedi." the hooded figure spat. A hand revealed itself from the mans robes, holding a lightsaber. The red chrimson blade sprouted from the hilt, with the familliar snap-hiss. Jacen, being a master of the Jar'kai form, had tow identical lightsabers. Unhooking them, Jacen brought his up, and activated them. "Might i ask who you are?" Jacen said. "Does it matter, when you're about to die?" the hooded figure said, and launched his attack. A single red blade, and two blue blades whizzed through the air, with a hum. With a crackle of energy, Jacen's duel blades smashed against against his foe's. Jacen ducked under the red blade, and brought his own up, only to be blocked. Keeping one of his own lightsabers, Jacen took the other, forcing his foe to back up. The hooded man deactivated his lightsaber, and reached out with his hand. Violet-blue energy rackled from the mans hand. Jacen deflected it with his lightsaber "Captain, we done with the download." Anya's voice came in through the holocom. Jacens duel had taken six minuets, and his foe would not let him escape. "Head to the shuttle, if I'm not there in five minuets, leave without me." Jacen said. He could feel the air had thinned, and knew he could not last much longer. The hooded man lowered his hood, revealing a familliar face, the face of a lost friend, Cad Lemelisk. Jacen thought Cad had been killed in the Battle of Qretu 5. There was an evil grin on Cad's face. "Recognize me, Jacen?" Cad said, menace in his voice. "Cad. What has happened to you?" "I have seen the strength of the Dark side of the force!" "Cad, the New Jedi Order thought you were dead." "That was all part of the plan." Cad said, and ignited his lightsaber again. Before he could swing, Jacen Force pushed him, and he slamed into the corridor wall. The durasteel cracked, and Cad's limp body fell to the floor. "I'm sorry to have to do this to you Cad." Jacen said. He then rushed off to the docking bay they came in. "I'm on my way now." Jacen said into the holocom. A minuet later, he burst through the blast doors, the shuttles sublight engiens already running. The shuttle door was still open, and jacen ran in. "Take off now!" Jacen shouted from the back of the shuttle. "Yes sir." Jacen heard the reply. Once he got into the cockpit, the shuttle was already in the air, and out of the Venom. "Vanquisher, we're coming aboard." Jacen told the Bridge on the intercom. "We're ready for you Captain." Barris replied. She shuttle entered it's own docking bay, number seven. Back on the bridge of the Vanquisher, Jacen watchd the Venom fall appart, as pieces entered the atmosphere of Ryloth. He watched as the ship his former friend, Cad Lemelisk was in, tear itself up. "Captain, the Vigilant's engines are operational now, and hyperspace ready." Barris said. "Good. Plot course for Coruscant." Jacen ordered. "Yes captain." Baris replied, then said into the intercom, "Rendezvous in the Corusca sector." The Vanquisher turned, ready to make the jump to hypersapce. Jacen's ship burst off into hyperspace, and vanished into the stars. Chapter Three (Not part of Jacen's point of view, but still part of the book) "Almighty Pranga The Hutt. I came here previously to seek for help against the New Republic. You gave me a task, and i have..." Dassyne started to say 'failed,' but then decided to say "Been delayed." Here on Nal Hutta, Pranga The Hutt owned a massive palace. The Hutt, and the Warlord were alone, but for a droid, that cleaned up after the Hutt's slime trail. Pranga's meeting room was the size of a large apartment on Coruscant.. "You have been delayed? chuba! You have failed!" The Pranga retaliated. "No, no. I just have been forced down the longer path. I have lost the Venom, but i have another way to defeat them" "You have failed to destroy, the Vanquisher, you have failed to gain my trust , Dassyne." A large Hutt, known as Pranga The Hutt. The mighty Hutt's full name was Pranga Kumad Grabba. "The price of help from this Hutt; you must destroy the Vanquisher, and kill Jacen Brashin!" The Hutt held a grudge on Jacen, he had killed Pranga's son, when he raided Nal Hutta, and it is in Hutt nature to get revenge. And they hardly fail. "I just need more time. I can ruin the captain's reputation from the inside; cause the crew to lose trust in him. I can make him venerable." Pranga released a booming laughter, and Dassyne was sure that the ceiling would cave in. "How do you plane to do that? I asked for you to simply destroy a ship, one single ship, and instead, the New Republic destroyed your Dreadnought. How are you ever going to penetrate the Vanquisher without anybody noticing?" "Oh, I have my ways. I have my ways..." Dassyne said, and trailed off. Pranga noticed something in Dassyne's voice. "Is it..." Pranga said, and put a grin on his face, "legal? "Well, that depends. Legal in the New republic, no, not at all." Dassyne insured. "Maybe. I'll give you one more chance." "Thank you, Mighty Pranga." "But I shall warn you this. If you fail me one more time, I will not aid you in your quest to regain power over the galaxy, but I will destroy you. That is the risk to ask for help from me. "Do not worry, I shall succeed." Dassyne bowed respectfully, and walked out. Nal Hutta, a swampy planet, even more revolting the the Hutts themselves, meant "Precious Jewl" I'd destroy this rock with the Death Star, rather than let join the Galactic Empire.' ''Dassyne thought. Not but a kilometer from the palace, stood a small cantina. Cantinas were perfect places to find a bounty hunter, and right now, that is just what Dassyne needed. Dassyne spoted a well-known Female Twi'lek bounty hunter, he recognized as Zhar'aren Ancif. "Zhar'aren." Dassyne said in a rather loud voice. The Twi'lek turned to look at him. "Yes, that would be me." Zhar'aren said. "I have a job for you." "I’m listening." "Let’s talk over a drink, shall we?" "Not interested." Zhar’aren said, and turned to walk out. "Fine with me, but that’s half a million creds you throwing away." "Alright, I'll consider it. What do you want?" "There is a republic ship I need you to help me take out. The Captain, Jacen Brashin, has found his way onto my bad side, and I know a Hutt who would love to have his head on his desk. Not only will i pay you, but Pranga The Hutt would pay quite handsomely." Dassyne said. "The captain is rather close to one person, and puts allot of trust in her, Anya Kryze. You will need to take her place, and we will bring down the captain, and then the ship will be venerable." "Alright..." Zhar'aren said, think this over. "I'm in." Zhar'aren was infamous for accepting any mission, for the right price, even a suicidal mission, yet she always lives. "Great." Dassyne said. Chapter Four The Vanquisher fell out of hyperspace five hundred kilometers from Coruscant. It slowly drifted towards the city-planet. Thousands upon thousands of ships, personal, freighters, and military ships orbited, or entered and left the atmosphere. Half of the planet was light up by the systems star, and looked like a rock with a fancy design. The other side of Coruscant was a lit up night, millions of tiny lights flashing. It was a beautiful sight. The Vanquisher was just stopping by Coruscant. It will soon prepare for a quick journey to its manufacturing plant, to get repairs the simple on board repair droids could not do. Jacen, however, had different plans in mind. “Anya, you are in charge of the Vanquisher. I have some business of my own.” “Yes Captain.” Anya replied. “That will be ‘Sir’ until I return. You are captain at the moment.” “Yes Sir,” She said, “Not to butt into your personal business, but may I ask, what do you have your hands full with?” “In time. In time you will know Anya. At the time being, it is irrelevant. Let me say this; do not worry about this. Set it aside for another time.” “Yes Cap- I-I mean Sir” Jacen grinned. “Rendezvous here in orbit in, say, one standard week.” • • • • The Massassi Temple that was used as the Jedi Temple, was one on ancient majestic structures. Hundreds, if not thousands of years old, many still stood. Jacen took is personal yacht to a smooth landing a mile or so away from the Temple itself. HE had no idea whether there were any Imps still around, and wanted to make sure that if there were any, they wouldn’t see him. After sprinting that mile, Jacen felt a bead of sweat trickle down is forehead, and his breathing came the slightest bit fast. I´m out of shape.. Jacen thought, I used to be able to sprint five miles before any sign of weakness would show. ''The Massassi Temple stood in front of him. The systems star was just peaking over the horizon. Birds called from the jungles, and various other animal sounds here heard as well. It was early in the morning; few young Jedi in the halls. Jacen had his own room, but hat been there in many months. Walking down the hall, Jacen stopped by his room, and opened the door. He found it exactly the way he had left it, except for one difference: a fine layer of dust covered everything Jacen stepped inside, and the dust jumped into the air, clouding his vison. He called some cleaner droids, and went to the top of the Temple to enjoy the weather. “Jacen.” a strange, yet familiar voice came from behind him. Startled, Jacen instinctively reached for his lightsaber. Realizing who it was, he returned his lightsaber to his belt. Claria, Jacen’s sister, stood there. “Now it has been quite some time since you’ve been here, Jacen.” Claria said. She was not force-sensitive, but Grand Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker allowed her to stay at the Jedi Temple. She had long black hair that flowed down her back and dark green eyes that were visible from a distance. She had a personally customized BlasTech T-28 rifle strapped to her back. “Indeed, it has.” Jacen said, closed the gap in between them, and gave her a hard pat on the shoulder. They talked for hours, until the sun had well risen past the horizon, updating each other on their activities of the past few month. Soon it was early afternoon, and Jacen went to the Main Hall, where one could usually find Master Skywalker. “Master, may i have a word?” Luke turned and said, “Ah, Jacen, it has been a while. I always have time for an old friend.” “Claria, this is something for the Grand Masters ears only.” Jacen told his sister. “Y-yes of course.” She replied, seemingly disappointed. Once she cleared the room, Jacen told Luke about the previous day “Master, you remember Cad Lemelisk?” “Cad...” Luke said. “Yes, he was in some of your training classes. “He never died on Qretu 5.” “What makes you say that? It is not impossible that he survived, but very unlikely.” “He has turned to the Dark Side. I fought him. Surely he died this time. He was in the Venom, unconscious, when it crashed on the surface of Ryloth. That, or he was sucked into the vacuum of space.” “I see. If he happened to survive, he will be a great threat to the New Republic, and the New Jedi Order.” Jacen walked out, dismissed. Back in his own room, the droids had finished their cleaning, Jacen was ready to collapse. It had been a very long day for him. The moment Jacen hit his bed, he was out cold. • • • • Jacen woke. Or thought he did. He was still deep in sleep. This was a dream. No, it was a vision. This is what he saw: He saw Cad. He had survived one again. His right arm was pinned by part of the Venom that had collapsed. His face had been badly burned. The scene change. This time Cad was fixed. where his right arm should have been, was a robotic arm. His burned face had cybernetic implants. If anything had changed, Cad had become more powerful. Again the scene changed. Warlord Dassyne had escaped the Venom, unnoticed by the Vanquisher. He was on Nar Shaddaa looking for someone. A bounty hunter. Scene change. An unknown female Twi’lek. The force identified her as the bounty hunter Dassyne found. The last time the scene changed, Jacen say Anya. She looked just like Anya, but the force told him this was not her. Something was wrong. • • • • Jacen woke up. For real this time. It was dark outside, He had slept for hours. Jacen had to tell this to the Grand Master, and there was no time to waste. Jacen knocked at the door. “Come in.” Jacen heard from within. Like seemed to have been up all night. The door opened with a swoosh and Jacen was blinded by the light that came from Luke’s room. “What brings you here at this hour?” “A dre—A vison, Master.” “Proceed.” “Its Cad. He lived again, and I doubt he is still on Ryloth.” Jacen said, and told Luke about his vison. “Cad is a great threat to the New Republic, and the New Jedi Order” “Master, you dont plan to kill him, do you?” "No, not me. When the time comes, the choice will be yours” Jacen nodded, in acknowledgement “Is there anything else?” “No master, that will be all. Thank you.” Jacen dismissed himslf. Jacen needed answers. It was time to talk with the Force again. • • • • Back in his room, Jacen was meditaing. Nothing but himself, could revive his from deep meditative sleep. Jacen opened his eyes, and he saw lush, green forestsm rolling plains, and huge bodies of water. Jedi Master Coleman appeared to him again. The Force had sent Master Colemans spirit to guid Jace, because he had faced similar events in his time. "Glad to see you again, Jacen." Master Coleman said "The pleasure is mine, Master. Im hoping you may have some answers for me." "That depends. I do hace answers, but you wont like them." "I do believe Cad and Dassyne both survived. Is that correct?" "im afraid so." "Can Cad see the truth, can he be brought back to the Light?" "Jacen, that depends on who you are. Ask yourself. Can you bring him back?" "I-I dont know. It takes a strong will, to be able to reject the Darkness. How can i bring him back, if he is too weak to come?" "This is something I cant tell you. It is impossible to know." "Jacens face filled with sadness. "The Twi'lek from my vision, who is she?" "She is a Bounty Hunter. She is very dangerous, and will attack when you least expect it." "Who highered her? What is she doing?" "It was Dassyne. It is unclear what her job is, but it was Dassyne who highered her." "I have one final question: What is putting Anya in danger?" "She will put herself in danger." What Master Coleman just told him shocked him. "Please explain." "Patience. In time, the answer will come." "I guess that's all, Master. Thank you." Jacen woke himself from his meditation, to hear the a pounding coming from his door. "Come in." Jacen said, as he gt up from his meditative position on the ground. "Sorry, couldent sleep. I didnt disturb you, did I?" Claria said, as she walked in. "Oh, no, its fin. I just finished up with a bit of meditation." Jacen replied. "Jacen, ever since yo've been back, youve been tense. Even I can fell you are troubled." "Um.. Thats jedi buisness." :Jacen, were a family, we dont keep secrets." Claria said, an sat down next to Jacen. Jacen sighed. "A frind of mine, Well, former friend, has fallen into the darkness. I fear i may nor beable to revive him from his evil ways." "Jedi are notsupposed to have feelings." "I am a human, and i cant forget my emotion. I can only ignore it. But i grew ip in a tough time there was no Jedi Order, I was never able to ignore what human nature has given me." Jacen said. "Even the strongest of jedi feel a sting when a close friend dies, or fall to the dark side." "I suppose I cant really know what you are going through." They talked till morning, but Jacen kept much to himself. • • • • As the days went by, Jacen was able to get to know some Padawans, and Masters, who had arrived since his last visit. He missed spending time with the Jedi Order, but his duty in the Republic prevented him from going to Yavin IV often. Untill Warlord Dassyne was captured, and his fleet eliminated, Jacen was a vital component in the Republic Fleet. Jacen's time here on Yavin IV was coming to an end, and it was time for him to say farewell. "I just wanted to thank you again before i leave." Jacen said to Luke. "Im always open to help one in need." "May the Force be with you, Master." "And may it be with you also." JAcen walkewd down the ancient corridors, and to his shuttle. He waved to everybody, as the ramp closed. Instantly, Jacen felt like something was wrong. After a few seconds of thuinking over it, he dismissed it; he was just a little uneasy about the thought of killing a friend. Jacen opened a holocomm chanel with the Vanquisher. "Captain, glad to see you again." Anya greeted. "First, you are still captain at the moment. Second, is the Vanquisher on its way to the rendevous point?" "About that, we are ready to leave, but we came across a minor issue." "Explain." "While we were docked, we had a Twi'lek female try to board, claimed she was recently asigned to the Vanquisher under your command." Anya said. "I looked through the ships database, and recent transmissions, and found nothing regarding--" The transmission broke up is a fit of static, and Jacen knew he was in grave danger. A fraction of a second before it happened, Jacen shielded himself with the force, and his shuttle exploded in a magnificent ball of fire. Shards of burning meatle fell through the forest, and Jacen plummeted through the canopy. He managed to stay consions, as he slamed into the hard packed dirt. Many bones were broken, and his entire body was covered in third degree burns. The cumfort of darkness came in, and Jacen glady accepted it, as he fell unconsious • • • • Anya stood on the bridge of th Vanquiser. "I looked through the ships database, and recent transmissions, and found nothing regarding a new crew member." Anta was saying when the holocomm broke up, and iluminated the bridge in a shower of sparks. "Barris, status report!" "Security breach on deck 14. Someone, or something is tamering with our communication systems." Barris replied "Our new recruit?" Negative. She is still in her holding cell." The Vanquisher needed to make it to the rendevous poin on time, so for the time being, Anya put the Twi'lek in a cell. The shiup had undocked half an hour ago, and just lumped into hyperspace. "If anything hapen to the hyperdrive units, power fluxuation, anything, drop us out of hyperspace. Khrussk, I need a sucurity team to meet me on Deck 14." Anya ordered. Khrussk Sarkh, Trandoshan, was the head on Security on the Vanquisher. "Right Away." Khrussk said, is his reptilian voice. Anya walked off the bridge, and took a turbolift to Deck 14. "Barris, can you isolate the breach?" "Im working on it." Barris replied. Moments later she added, "Whoever is playing with our computers is no amature. He has denied my access to any security related functions." "Great. So if thats how he wants to play, thats how were gonna play. Khrussk, send down a full patroll team." "Copy that." minuets later roughly twenty-five soldiers approached the captain. "I wants every inch of this level searched. Find that intruder, you know the drill!" Anya ordered. The soldiers split off in multiple directions. The Bulwarks size would only make the task more time consuming, but these soldiers were the most efficient in the Republic Fleet. It was nearly half an hour before Anya's holocomm buzzed. "Captain, we may have found the intruder." The patrol leader, Jan Nadon, said. "It must be some slicer droid. What ever it is, it tore thhrough the ceiling pannels." "Im on my way. Are you ceartain it was a droid?" "No captain, but the size of the hole is too small for any capable being to fit through. "Copy." Anya finished and folowed the tracking system built into the holocoms. Finally she aproached the soldiers, who had already removed the ceiling pannel, and were waiting for Anya. The hole in the ceiling pannel was just big enough for her to fit her hand through. "Trooper, stay here, make sure nothing comes this way." Anya said to the soldier to her right. "As for the rest of y'all, your coming with me, and were gonna get that slcer. Set weapons to disable, we want to get this thing intact so we can see where it came from." The soldier instructed to stay behing hoisted Anya up through the gap in theceiling, folowed by the commander, and two other troops. The ventilation shaft was short, so they had to crouch while they walked. The group made their way through the ducts until they came across a portion of the duct that had been shredded. Wires were exposed, and even a free threw sparts when they made contact with anything conductive, lighting up the dim area. The soldiers positioned themselves on either side of the torn paneling, and opened a holomap of the ships ventilation. "according to the map, these wires are mainly power supple." anya said. "A diversion?" Anya did not reply, but carefully pushed aside the electrical wires, and grabed a thick green wire. "This is most of the computer connections." Embedded in the wire, was a small round droid, that seemed to have fused itself into it, granting itself access to nearly every computer on deck 14. Anya's computer wan on deck 14, and it had access to every file in the Vanquisher's Database. "Get this removed ASAP!" Anya said, maybe a little to loud. the soldiers stood there for a second, surprised at the volume, then scrambled to grab tools, and pry the droid loose. a little quieter, she added, "Then call in for an engineering team, to fix the connections. After climbing out of the ceiling, Anya activated her holocomm, and said "Barris, anything new?" "Negative, Captain. I've been blocked from just about everything. I have less privileges than even the troopers." At that moment, tth slicer droid was free of the cables. "Wait a minuet. Im getting something. Its coming from your quarters, Captain. There is another coming from one of the starboard decks, i cant pinpoint which one exactly." "Dont worry about it. I've got a team working on it already." Anya said, and after a moment of thought, she added, "Go ahead and redock at the station. We dont want an unnoticed hyperdrive failure, then we'll have bigger problems." her only reply was a fit of static, and the vibrations of the sublight engines kicking in, and moving the ship back into position to dock at the station. Had the hyperdrive failed, we would never get back to Coruscant. Anya thought. There were four possibilities to a hyper drive malfunction. the first is the entire ship will explode with enough force to possibly distort the hyperlane. The ship could just fall stranded in the middle of space, with no means to travel FTL. the ship could fall hrough the barrier of dimentions, and be stranded in an unknown universe. The last, but least probably is the ship would fall through time. When she finally reached her room, and typed in the passcode to enter, the door opened with a Swoosh. As she walked in, she thought Odd... The automatic lights never turned on. And the door shut behind her. Startled, she drew her blaster, and swong around. Calm down, its just a droid. she said silently to herself. A moment later, the Twi'lek bounty hunter emerged from the darness of a corner, and her foot connected with the side of Anya's skull. Oblivious to the entire thing, Anya collapsed on the floor, unconscious. To finish it all, the Twi'lek shot Anya with a tranqulizer dart, strong enough to even put a Nexu to sleep. Category:Jedi Category:Jedi Knight Category:Jedi Padawan Category:Tokocharger Family